The Hidden L'Cie
by CrayonCalendar
Summary: Lightning Farron lives at the far-reaching edge of Cocoon's new society on Pulse—a feared world of beasts and wandering fal'Cie. After years of service in hunting and leading her people there, she becomes wiser and there's a feeling... She wants to go back to the Rest, she realised then, to be amongst her family, and live there with them.


Chapter One "Brief Greetings"

_What had happened to Lightning?_

Serah wondered this to herself, as she laid over her entry couch. Her door wide-opened, revealing the suburban road that was her home, muddied with rain, along with the few, close, NORA members chatting outside. She was exhausted, her arms splayed up along the couch's rests.

She had received the call from her husband, telling her—amidst the roaring of his velocycle, 'we need to talk', before suddenly hanging up. It had happened just as soon as he'd picked up Light from District 7 station. They were on their way over to them now.

Minutes before, Serah was ready to face the day again, revitalised from her rest, and ready to complete her plans of cooking food for Claire's welcoming party, after coming home from such a busy day at work. Serah needed a break of course, considering the work still left for her in the day ridiculous, and so laid down on the nearest couch.

But after answering her phone, now she relaxed back down on it, content to mull over—what exactly her husband meant by his words.

It didn't seem like it was terrible news, nor did it seem like it was something totally fine. It was something worth talking about, but not was it like, anything mundane, like a leak from the attic, or some paperwork they forgot to complete at the military HQ.

It could be from Snow's job, or even be about Sazh, if he had worked with him today. But, it was unlikely to be the case, as Snow had called her just as soon as he'd met Light at the station, and had gotten on his bike.

Unfortunately, all roads lead to it being about her. Slight trepidation now dampened Serah's once bright mood, just to go with the small rain.

It was frustrating, but it would just have to wait. She'd ask her sister once she'd arrive—and the younger still had some stuff to do.

Serah picked herself off the couch, and with tired legs, hovered into the kitchen, where Lebreau and Yuj still sat, chatting by the dining table.

Rosie was there, her arms holding up her chin over the kitchen counter, obviously waiting for her mother, wondering if she needed any other help with anything regarding the cooking.

"Sorry Rosie," Serah said with a smile. "I'm all finished, well on your end. Why don't you go play with Kay?"

It was so easy to hide the fatigue Serah felt, whenever her little loved ones looked her way. Rosie gave Serah a look of exasperation, before simply saying, "fine," and hopped off the stool.

She headed off to where Serah once was, the entry which held the stairs, leading onto her and her sister's bedroom. Serah then turned and faced her cooking once again, picking up a wooden spoon and giving all pots a stir. She bent over tiredly to open her pantry, and as she did so, she felt a hand on her shoulder, before a hip at her side.

"Need a hand?" Lebreau asked brightly, smiling.

The raven-haired woman, who was a good friend of Serah's, scooched over beside the mother, her hands quickly getting to work as she began looking through the pantry from the other door.

Needless to say, this woman was the maitre d' and head chef back at New Bodhum—where she still lived along with the rest of NORA. They all would hunt and gather the ingredients she'd cook for their large, noisy, communal gatherings.

Serah would usually give her a hand with things whenever she'd come by to visit. To eat, or to simply chat with the easy going, cool brunette.

"I've got this. Why don't you take it easy for a bit?" She asked.

Still, there was some resistance in Serah, she hadn't finished cooking her stew, what was the pot bubbling a strikingly yellow broth.

"I insist."

Lebreau smirked at her, presumably at seeing the rose-haired mother's expression, what was her cheeks pulled up in a pinch.

"Sure," Serah said simply.

"I was just thinking of making a salad. It's not much, but... this is about as much as I can muster, to be honest."

"It's fine. I can't imagine how you must be feeling—you just came home from a whole day of looking after rugrats, after all."

Lebreau faced her, as she levelled some ingredients on the table. "Go ahead, put your feet up, I'll take care of all this."

"Thanks 'breau," Serah conceded, smiling warmly at her friend's generousity.

Serah walked around the counter, obliging to sit down, which her body greatly appreciated. Her chest relaxed as the weight of her responsibilities piled off of her. She sighed, feeling the waves of her thoughts coming to the fore, about the brief chat with her husband, and Lightning.

Cutting into those thoughts though, suddenly she, along with Lebreau, heard the slight sounds of knocking coming from the opened door of the entry. That was extraordinarily quick, Serah thought fast, until she heard the deep, much older voice of the new guest.

"Hello, I hear the festivities have moved over here."

Serah walked away from the stool, and into the view of the old man, and his teenage boy, Dajh. The sound of Serah's exclamation seeped into her greeting.

"Hey Sazh!" she offered him a hug, and Sazh accepted, Serah pulling him in. Peering over his shoulder, the roseate greeted Dajh warmly as well.

Out of the embrace, Serah asked, "How old are you now, Dajh?"

"Fifteen," was his happy reply, but shyly, his mouth zipped up after that. Sazh chuckled watching over them, holding a warm expression.

"Why don't you come inside. We're only cooking the food here 'cause Light's gas isn't working, for whatever reason."

"Huh, the gas you say?" Sazh said.

They followed her into the kitchen, sitting down at the dining table, Dajh opposite his father, and soon as the eldest member planted himself, did he relax audibly—making more of a groan of sorts. A grace Serah was well aware left those once they reached, and continued maturing past a certain age. He had asked Serah how she'd been, and Serah told him about things going on recently.

"She's finally coming back to live here, huh?" Sazh added to the air moments later, "Ol' soldier girl."

Serah was well aware of the nicknames Sazh had of the crew; her sister—soldier girl, her husband—trench coat…

"Yeah," Serah said, with her earlier bright mood.

Today was the day she was finally coming to the Rest, having been in the works for the last two weeks.

Prior to today, Claire would visit them once every month, or two months—and she could tell, as well as her daughters, that her sister very much wanted to be there, and visit them much more often. It was thanks to Amodar, of all people, to push Claire into staying at the Rest, permanently, with the influx of a new job opportunity. Claire would work under him as an office assistant, it seemed.

"She's got a new job here, and she'll be living just further down the street."

"Really? Had no idea she found herself a new job." said Sazh.

"Was it easy to find one, keeping her identity under wraps?"

Interestingly, it seemed Sazh hadn't seen Light for some time. From accounts, Sazh would make every opportunity to see her sister again—they were old comrades that shared a nice kinship. But it seemed that he had just some things going on at such times, whenever Claire came to visit. Sazh's gaze faced the road and streets of her neighbourhood.

"All I see around this way are two-storey, large-ish houses… A little too much room for Lightning's liking, wouldn't you think? Unless her house is that skinny white house over there."

He was talking about the house on top of the hill—which Serah didn't really know much about, that seemed to have finished construction despite the scaffolding still around. "What would she do with all the space?"

Serah laughed, and replied that she and her sister already had a conversation about it.

That it was a hard sell for her, but Claire budged in the end. From Serah's own vivid memory, Claire thought it had one too many unnecessary rooms for her liking, especially in contrast to her own desire of one 'cosy', and preferably close to her new workplace. She'd wondered aloud to Serah what she could possibly do with all the space. As she told her this, Serah started laughing on the line. Of course, at this point Light understood why they had wanted her to buy the new home, before Serah even explained it to her.

Sazh laughed at the end of it, saying, "Yeah, I don't see who could possibly be that woman's man though, or if she really wants a man in the first place…"

Seeing Serah's expression change slightly at this, Sazh wisely added, "Y'know, being an ex-l'Cie and all."

Serah's cheeks and mouth raised into a funny smile. "Imagine, realising the woman you've been dating—been having those coffees with, was actually that l'Cie," he continued, "part of the legendary band of l'Cie, that took down the Sanctum—raising a lot of hell in the process."

"And hell raising is exactly what happened, literally, but it wasn't the l'Cie's fault… the people know."

Serah's smile soon morphed again into a frown.

"Yeah, it will be troublesome for her, that's for sure."

And as Serah's mouth opened, she remembered the news from Snow—and not knowing the specifics of what he had meant, closed her mouth again, keeping whatever the thought shut.

"What about Hope?" Sazh said with a smile. More a lingering grin that said, 'I'm spoking fires that I'm in no way responsible of putting out', and soon Serah's mind caught up to the old man.

"He's twenty-four now, I think. He'd be an option for her—if he wasn't already taken. Who's to say, huh?"

Serah shook her head, with a smirk. He would be here today, Hope, if the train, which came from the other side of Cocoon's Rest her sister had come from, hadn't been delayed—and so he'd be arriving tomorrow. Missing the small gathering this evening, but still with plans to see his old l'Cie gang again.

She'd last seen Hope years ago, so she, and especially her husband, who'd journeyed with him, were very much looking forward to seeing him again. To see just how much he'd grown, and what he'd been up to, being an adult now, but this blatant gossiping…

"What? Hope for my sister?" Serah humoured thoughtlessly.

Suddenly with that, the sound of a nearby velocycle, familiar to Serah, landing, permeated the air, taking both their attention away.

"Speak of the devil," Sazh quipped.

It was Claire. And Serah needn't get off her stool, as the door just as soon flung open, the large frame of her husband appearing through it. The friendly giant glanced at Serah once, with a sheepish grin, before facing back at the door, who would be the next person to enter.

Lightning soon entered. And as she was making her bearings, she spotted Serah and Sazh. Her chipped lips formed into a smile.

"Hey Serah. Sazh."

Serah came to hug her.

"I'm so glad you're here... How have you been?" Serah asked.

"Good, but there is some news I need to tell you."

Some trepidation came at the fore of Serah.

"My gas is running."

Now confusion took its place. "Ah, what?"

"My gas, it's running."

"Ah, no it isn't... But, that doesn't make any sense, how would you..."

"Serah. My _gas_, is running now, just like the rest of our's," she repeats, hoping to reiterate some point.

Still confused, Lightning then leaned closer, and whispered harshly, but enough that all members of the room could hear.

"My powers, they're back."


End file.
